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Life After Coal: Envisioning Just Transitions Across Borders

Transnational perspectives on post-industrial futures in the Americas

April 3 12:00-1:00 PM followed by a reception.

As coal declines globally, regions with coal mines and plants face urgent questions about economic survival, environmental remediation, and social justice. This panel, presented by the Climate Jobs Institute and Krannert Art Museum, brings together grassroots activists, community leaders, and engaged scholars from Illinois and Ohio in the U.S. and the Biobío region in Chile to explore how coal communities are shaping their own post-industrial futures. Centering lived experience, the discussion examines how cultural heritage, collective memory, and place-based knowledge serve as tools for economic renewal, political mobilization, and energy transition justice. The session also highlights the role of engaged research—collaborative, community-based scholarship that works alongside activists to document histories, strengthen organizing, and support locally defined development goals. The panel will emphasize transnational solidarity and partnerships that bridge research and action to advance just transitions beyond coal.

Presented in conjunction with Memorias de la Mujer Lotina: Arpilleras, Women, and Coal in Chile, on view at Krannert Art Museum through Sep 5, 2026.

Panelists include:

Emily Guske (Climate Jobs Institute)

Todd Lee (Vermilion County community member)

Jordan Woodward (Humanities Research Institute Postdoctoral Researcher)

Kellye Blosser (Treasurer, Little Cities of Black Diamonds)

Elizabeth Aguilera (President, Mesa Ciudadana de Lota)

Magdalena Novoa (Department of Urban and Regional Planning)